The invention concerns a procedure for connecting a status detection device of a passive safety system for motor vehicles to a control unit.
Motor vehicles are increasingly equipped with safety systems such as airbag systems, belt tensioning systems, and rollbar systems. As these systems are all critical to safety, the requirements with regard to their reliability are particularly stringent. It is important here that the status detection devices of add-on units for these safety systems--such as, for example, passenger seat occupation detection and belt buckle status detection--operate safely and provide reliable status information, in this way ensuring a sufficient degree of protection for vehicle occupants in the event of an accident.
Thus it is known that a micro-mechanical belt contact switch is used for belt buckle status detection; however, this switch has minor defects with regard to its reliability. Therefore, in order to improve such belt buckle status detection, devices--preferably Hall sensors--were developed which operate without contact and thus also without any wear.
However, if automotive manufacturers transitionally use systems featuring micro-mechanical belt contact switches as well as Hall sensors, these systems require different methods respective processing of the signals containing the status information in order to enable these signals to be evaluated by the control unit of the safety system.